Plaything

ABSTRACT

A plaything including unit blocks connected to each other using a connection tube is provided. Each unit block includes a spherical capsule and a plurality of connection members protruding at regular angular intervals from the surface of the spherical capsule. A shock detector emitting light in response to an external shock is installed inside the unit block. When connecting the unit blocks, the connection members of different unit blocks are inserted into the same connection tube from opposite directions. A structure formed by only one unit block or by connecting two or more unit blocks may be used as an educational tool or a shaking tool shaken in a manner of jig fishing.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

The present invention relates to a plaything, and more particularly to a plaything including one or more unit blocks, each including a spherical capsule, a plurality of connection members protruding at regular angular intervals from, the surface of the capsule, and tubes enclosing the connection members, and a shock detector emitting light in response to an external shock, in which the unit blocks are connected to form a structure serving as an educational tool or a shaking tool which is shaken in a manner of jig fishing or each unit block solely serving as an educational tool or a shaking tool shaken in a manner of jig fishing.

2. Description of the Related Art

Generally, block puzzles are used to have fun and improve a user's intelligent creativity. Unit blocks of the puzzle blocks have various forms and are generally connected to each other by surface contact without using a coupling means.

The block puzzle, illustrated in FIGS. 1 and 2, is developed as a three-dimensional puzzle game which is improved compared with a two-dimensional puzzle game such as a jigsaw puzzle. The detailed structure and principle of the three-dimensional block puzzle will he described below. The block puzzle is composed of a plurality of polygonal unit blocks colored in various colors. The unit clocks are combined to form various images such as letters and numbers.

When assembling the unit blocks, the unit blocks come in surface contact with each other to form, a three-dimensional object. At this time, images marked on the surfaces of the unit blocks may be used for proper arrangement of the unit blocks. For example, letters may be inscribed in the surfaces of the unit blocks and the unit blocks may be assembled to form a desired word or sentence.

The block puzzle does not include coupling means as its elements. Accordingly, the desired structure can be made only by stacking the unit blocks and thus it is difficult, to form various structures. Furthermore, after the desired structure is completely formed, the structure may easily collapse because of the absence of a coupling means. Accordingly, it is difficult to maintain the block puzzle in the assembled state and it is difficult to use the assembled structure as an ornament.

For this reason, the conventional block puzzle was used only by children and failed to interest teenagers and adults. Furthermore, since a set of the block puzzle includes about 100 unit blocks, cost for preparing injection molds for unit blocks was high, which increases production cost.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, Korean Patent Publication No, 2011-87603 proposes an LSD assembly block and a display device using the same. The assembly block disclosed in Korean Patent Publication No. 2011-87603 includes polyhedral objects as unit blocks. Each unit block has more than one surface. The bottom surface and any one surface of the other surfaces have fixing protrusions and the other surfaces have a fixing recess with a recessed surface. The fixing protrusions on one surface of one unit block are fitted into the fixing recess on one surface of another unit block. In this way, a plurality of unit blocks axe assembled to produce a desired three-dimensional shape. A terminal module including a power terminal and a data terminal is installed in

j each surface of the unit block. In addition, LED lamps displaying red, green, and blue rays are installed in the surfaces of each unit block other than the surfaces in which the fixing protrusions are formed.

Each unit block of the block disclosed in Korean Patent Publication No. 2011-87603 has a rectangular surface. Accordingly, it is difficult to achieve an arrangement for forming a sphere, an arrangement for expressing a curve, and a spatial arrangement using the block. In order to solve this problem, i.e., to eliminate the difficulty in achieving the spatial arrangement or expression of a curved shape, Korean Utility Model Registration No. 414572 proposes a puzzle block comprised of magnetic rods and marbles.

Korean Utility Model Registration No. 414572 discloses a puzzle block including magnetized metallic rods arid marbles as unit blocks. Korean Utility Model Registration No. 435040 discloses a puzzle block including spherical objects as unit blocks in which each spherical object has a recess at one position and a protrusion at another position in the object. The unit blocks are coupled in such a mariner that the protrusion of one unit block is inserted into the recess of another unit block. This puzzle block is used as an educational tool for expressing chemical structures or molecular structures. This puzzle block has the advantage that it is possible to form a spherical model or a building model and to achieve a spatial arrangement of unit blocks. However, the puzzle block also has the disadvantage of requiring connection members which are bent or bendable at a predetermined angle when expressing molecular structures and spherical objects or when achieving the spatial arrangement. When the connection members are missing, it is difficult to form three-dimensional models.

After the unit blocks are assembled to express molecular structures, spherical models, or other forms of three-dimensional models, the user can play with the assembled structure or model during day times or under light, but cannot play during night times at which light does not exist. And, the puzzle block is plain in terms of visual effect.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly, the present invention has been made keeping in mind the above problems occurring in the prior art, and an object of the present invention is to provide a plaything having the following features: first, the plaything includes unit blocks, each including a spherical capsule and a plurality of connection members protruding at regular angular intervals from a surface of the spherical capsule, a shock detector which emits a light ray in response to an external shock, and tubes that enclose the connection members. More than one unit block is coupled to form objects which can be used as educational tools or shaking fools shaken in a manner of jig fishing; second, when the unit blocks are assembled to form an educational tool expressing chemical structures or molecular structures, a three-dimensional model such as a ball shape, a building shape, and an animal shape, or to form a shaking tool shaken in a manner of jig fishing, since the connection members for connecting the unit blocks to each other are flexible, it is easy to form objects having various shapes without limitations in terms of angles; and third, because the shock detector which emits a right ray in response to a shock applied is installed inside the unit block, the plaything can be used daring night times as well as day times, and has an advantage in terms of visual effect.

According to one aspect, a plaything includes; one or more unit blocks, each unit block including a spherical capsule having an inside space and a plurality of connection members protruding from, a surface of the spherical capsule; a shock detector which is installed in the spherical capsule and includes a light-emitting device emitting a light ray when a shook: is applied to the unit block, a sensor member which senses a shock applied to the unit block and causes electric power to be supplied to the light-emitting device when the shock is detected, and a battery which supplies the electric power to the light-emitting device; and a connection tube which has a through hole extending to pass through a center portion of the connection tube in a longitudinal direction and which is made of an elastic material, and into which the connection member is inserted.

The connection tube is formed of rubber, synthetic resin, or metal.

The connection tube includes a support bar which is inserted into the through hole in order to allow the connection tube to move upward, downward,, leftward, and rightward or to rotate.

The spherical, capsule is structured to be divided into hemispherical parts.

The spherical capsule has a ring-shaped groove at a middle portion of a surface of the spherical capsule, and a ring-shaped connection band, on which the connection members are provided at regular intervals, may be inserted into the ring-shaped groove.

According to the plaything according to the present invention, a shock detector which emits a light ray in response to an external shock is installed in a unit block configured, such that a plurality of connection members protrude from a surface of a spherical capsule at regular angular intervals, flexible tubes are installed to enclose the connection members, and one or more unit blocks are coupled to form an educational tool or a shaking tool shaken in a manner of jig fishing. When the plaything is used as an educational tool, chemical structures or molecular structures can be expressed, and three-dimensional objects such as balls, buildings, or animal models can be constructed. Furthermore, the plaything may be used as a shaking tool shaken in a manner of jig fishing. When the unit blocks are coupled, since the connection members are flexible, various shapes, forms, or models can be constructed without being limited in terms of angles. Furthermore, since the shock detector which emits a light ray in response to an external shock, the plaything can be used during night times as well as day times. Yet furthermore, since the shock detector can emit colorful rays, the plaything has an advantage in terms of visual effect.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The above and other objects, features and other advantages of the present invention will be more clearly understood from the following detailed description when taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the appearance of a plaything according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the structure of the plaything according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the structure of the plaything according to one embodiment of the present invention;

FIG. 4A is a cross-sectional view illustrating an assembled state of the plaything in which unit blocks are connected to form a linear structure;

FIG. 4B is a cross-sectional view illustrating an assembled state of the plaything in which unit blocks are assembled to form a curved structure;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view illustrating a method of playing a game using one plaything according to the present invention;

FIGS. 6A to 6G are photographs illustrating structures constructed using the plaything according to the present invention;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a plaything according to another embodiment of the present invention; and

FIGS. 8A to 8B are cross-sectional views illustrating a plaything according to a further embodiment of the present invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Hereinbelow, preferred embodiments of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. Unless otherwise defined, all terms used in this specification and claims, including technical or specific terms, should be conceptually interpreted, in light of the concept of the present invention and are not to be interpreted to have ideal or expressively formal meanings defined in a generally used dictionary based on the rule that inventors can define specific terms to most properly describe their inventions.

The preferred embodiment of the present invention is described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the appearance of a play thing according to one embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view illustrating the structure of the plaything according to the same embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view illustrating the plaything according to the same embodiment of the present invention.

With reference to FIGS. 1 to 3, a plaything 1 is used as an educational tool for constructing chemical structures or molecular structures by combining one or more unit blocks. The plaything 1 is used to construct a three-dimensional object such as a ball, a building, and an animal model. Furthermore, the plaything 1 is used as a shaking tool shaken in a manner of jig fishing.

The plaything 1 is composed of a plurality of unit blocks 10. Each unit block 10 includes a spherical capsule 11 which can be divided into hemispherical parts, and a plurality of connection members 13 protruding from the surface of the spherical capsule 11 at regular angular intervals. A shock detector 20 which emits a light ray in response to an external shock is installed in the spherical capsule. The plaything 1 further includes connection tubes 30 formed of an elastic material. The connection tube 30 has a through holes 31 extending to pass through a center portion of the connection tube 30 in a longitudinal direction. The connection member 13 can be inserted into the through hole 31 of the connection tube 30.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, the spherical capsule 11 has an inside space 12 and is made up of a first hemispherical part 11-1 and a second hemispherical part 11-2. An end of the first hemispherical part 11-1 or the second hemispherical part 11-2 has a restriction protrusion 11-1 a and a coupled portion 11-2 a to be coupled to the restriction protrusion 11-1 a. Each of the connection members 13 can also be divided into two parts.

Although the spherical capsule 11 can be divided into hemispherical parts in the present embodiment, it may be a single body that cannot be divided and which is formed of synthetic resin or a material obtained by reacting polyvinyl alcohol (PVA) with boric acid.

The composition of the resin includes 30% to 35% by weight of Polyvinyl Alcohol (PVA) and correspondingly 10% to 5% by weight of boric acid, A resin composition or synthetic resin material, transparent or translucent, may be used to manufacture the spherical capsule.

The shock detector 20 includes a sensor member 21 for detecting a shock, a circuit board 22 on which the sensor member is attached, a light-emitting device 23 which is connected to the circuit board 22 and emits light in response to an external shock detected by the sensor member 21, and a battery which supplies electric energy to the light-emitting device 23.

The connection tube 30 is preferably formed of rubber or synthetic resin. This is because the connection tube 30 made of rubber or synthetic resin can be freely bent in ail directions and at any angle because of elasticity, and can maintain support, force in a connection between unit blocks serving as playthings.

Examples of a method of using the plaything according to the present invention will be described. As illustrated in FIG. 5, only one unit block 1 may be used as a plaything. That is, a support bar 100 is inserted into the through hole 31 of the connection tube 30 from a first end, and the connection member 13 is inserted into the through hole 31 from, a second end opposite to the first end. A user may hold the support bar and shake the plaything or rotate the plaything with a predetermined rotation radius.

When using the plaything 1 in the ways described above, if an external, shock is applied to the plaything 1, the sensor member 21 attached to the circuit board 22 detects the external shock and sends a signal to the circuit board 22, the circuit board 22 allows electric power to be supplied to the light-emitting device 23 from the battery 24 based on the signal, and the light-emitting device 23 emits light.

In this case, the light-emitting device 23 switches light emission on and off. That is, the light-emitting device 23 emits light in a flashing manner. Preferably, two or more light-emitting devices 23 are installed to flash alternately or in turns,

In addition, as illustrated in FIGS. 4A and 4B, the unit blocks 10 can be connected to form a linear shape, a curved shape, or a combination of linear shapes and curved shapes which are repeatedly alternate. In this case, one of the connection members 13 protruding at regular angular intervals from the surface of the spherical capsule 11 in one unit block 10 is inserted into an end of the connection tube 30, and one of the connection members 13 of another unit block 10 is also inserted into the opposite end of the same connection tube, In this way, two unit blocks 10 are connected by one connection tube 30.

When two unit blocks 10 are connected by one connection tube 30, since the connection tubs 30 has elasticity and is flexible, the unit blocks 10 can be connected in a linear fashion or an angular fashion by being bent.

Since the unit blocks 10 are connected by the connection tube 30 in order to form a curved structure, it is preferable that the connection tube 30 be made of a material excellent in shape memory characteristics. Alternatively, the unit blocks may be connected to each other using a distance between adjacent unit blocks 10.

When two unit blocks 10 are connected using one connection tube 30 and a bent angle of the connection tube 30 having elasticity is adjusted, as illustrated in FIGS. 6A to 6D, educational tools for expressing chemical structures or molecular structures or three-dimensional objects such as a ball, a building, or an animal model can be constructed.

In addition, as illustrated in FIG. 7, a ring-shaped groove 11 a is formed in a middle portion of the surface of the spherical capsule 11, and a connection, band 50, on which the connection members 13 are formed at regular intervals, is inserted into the groove 11 a. The connection band 50 is fixed by the connection tube 30 adjacent to the connection tube 30 used to connect two unit blocks. Furthermore, since the connection band 50 is rotatably inserted into the groove 11 a, when two or more light-emitting devices 23 are installed, the direction of light emitted from each unit block and expression by light emitted from each unit block can be adjusted.

When a shock is applied to a structure having various colors and shapes which is obtained by assembling multiple playthings 1, the sensor member 21 of the shock detector 20 detects the shock.

When an external shock is detected, the light-emitting element 23 connected to the circuit board 22 to which the sensor member 21 is attached is supplied with, electric power from the battery 24 and thus emits light. Preferably, the light-emitting device 23 may be an LED (light-emitting diode). Only one light-emitting device 23 may be installed, or two or more light-emitting devices 23 may be installed. When two or more light-emitting devices 23 are installed, the light-emitting devices 23 preferably emit different color rays.

More preferably, one light-emitting device 23 is turned on to emit light for a predetermined period and then turned off, and another light-emitting device 23 is turned on. to emit light as soon as the former light-emitting device 23 is turned off. In this way, the user can have fun with rays of light even during night times and a visual effect of the plaything is obtainable.

The unit, block in which the shock detector emitting light in response to an external, shock is installed is manufactured by embedding the shock detector 20 inside the capsule through ejection molding of synthetic resin or a resin composition obtained by reacting PVA with boric acid.

A structure in which a shock defector is embedded inside a resin composition, obtained by reacting PVA with boric acid, is disclosed in Korean Patent Application No. 2010-115262 which is applied by the present applicant and titled “Bouncy Bail with Built-in LED”.

As illustrated in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the cross-sectional shape of the unit block 10 may be a triangle and the connection members 13 may be provided at vertices or on surfaces.

Although a preferred embodiment of the present invention has been described for illustrative purposes, those skilled in the art will appreciate that various modifications, additions and substitutions are possible, without departing from the scope and spirit of the invention as disclosed in the accompanying claims. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A plaything comprising; two or more unit blocks connected to each other, each unit block including a spherical capsule having an inside space and a plurality of connection members integrally formed with the spherical capsule and protruding from a surface of the spherical capsule; a shock detector installed in the unit block and including a light-emitting device for emitting light, a sensor member for detecting a shock applied to the unit block and causing electric power to be supplied to the light-emitting device when a shock is detected, and a battery supplying the electric power; a connection tube made of a flexible elastic material and having a through hole extending in a longitudinal direction of the connection tube, wherein the unit blocks are connected to each other such that one of the connection members of one unit block and one of the connection members of another unit block are inserted into the connection tube from opposite directions.
 2. The plaything according to claim 1, wherein the connection tube is made of rubber or synthetic resin.
 3. The plaything according to claim 1, wherein the spherical capsule is made to foe divided into two hemispherical parts.
 4. The plaything according to claim 1, wherein a ring-shaped groove is formed in a middle portion of the surface of the spherical capsule arid a connection hand, on which the connection members are formed at regular intervals, is inserted into the ring-shaped groove.
 5. The plaything according to claim 1, wherein the unit block is a single body of a resin composition obtained by reacting PVA and boric acid, and the shock detector is embedded in the resin composition.
 6. The plaything according to claim 1, wherein a cross-sectional shape of the unit block is a circle, a triangle, or a rectangle. 